Watch Now

© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ

Watch Now

Donate

Play Live Radio

Next Up:

0:00

0:00 0:00

Available On Air Stations

Photos: Explosion Leaves Beirut In Shatters As Cleanup Begins

By Emily Bogle

Published August 4, 2020 at 6:03 PM EDT

Lebanese soldiers search for survivors on Wednesday, one day after a massive explosion rocked Beirut, Lebanon. The explosion flattened much of a port and damaged buildings across Beirut, sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky.

Updated at 9:50 a.m. ET

An enormous explosion shook Beirut, Lebanon, on Tuesday. At least 100 people are dead and thousands more people were hurt, according to officials. The death toll is expected to rise as searches are underway for people who have been reported missing.

Buildings collapsed and glass shattered as helicopters and firefighters doused the flames in the city's port. On Wednesday, residents are assessing the damage and beginning to clean up the debris in the Lebanese capital.

Read the latest on the explosion in Beirut here.

An army helicopter drops water at the scene of Tuesday's massive explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut on Wednesday. Residents of Beirut awoke to a scene of utter devastation on Wednesday, a day after a massive explosion sent shock waves across the Lebanese capital, killing dozens of people and wounding thousands.

A man looks out of the collapsed facade of an apartment on Wednesday. It was damaged by an explosion a day earlier.

People clean up debris in Saint George Maronite Cathedral on Wednesday after a massive explosion occurred in Beirut on Tuesday.

Women wearing face masks and gloves stand amid the rubble in Beirut's Gimmayzeh commercial district on Wednesday. The area was heavily damaged by the previous day's powerful explosion.

On Wednesday, a man removes broken glass scattered on the carpet of a mosque damaged in Tuesday's blast in Beirut.

A large explosion rocked the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday. The blast, which rattled entire buildings and broke glass, was felt in several parts of the city.

A man walks through debris near the scene of the enormous explosion in Lebanon on Tuesday. At least 70 people were killed, and at least 2,700 people were hurt. The blast shattered windows and damaged buildings across a wide swath of Beirut.

A firefighter checks a wounded man near the scene of the explosion in Beirut.

A woman is assisted while walking through debris after Tuesday's explosion in Beirut.

Firefighters douse a fire at Beirut's port. Hours after the blast, numerous Beirut hospitals are reportedly overwhelmed.

The blast destroyed a silo at the port in Beirut. Several hours after the blast, emergency crews still had not been able to reach all of the wounded people in their homes, the Lebanese Red Cross said.

Lebanese Red Cross ambulances gather outside the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque in Beirut on Tuesday as they set up search-and-rescue operations for victims following the massive explosion.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

Donate

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

Donate